1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to supporting items on a wall such that attachment to the wall can take place and more particularly to a jig or holder that is especially useful for cabinet installation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the construction industry, walls and ceilings can be at least partially covered with shelves, cabinets, and the like. Previously, items such as cabinets are attached to a wall using a crew of workers who would manually lift a cabinet and hold it in place while it is secured to the wall. Shelves, hanging storage areas, and other objects typically are secured against wall framing by nailing, screwing, adhesive bonding or by a combination of fastening techniques to achieve permanent installation.
Because of the time involved in achieving proper installation, as well as the size and weight of the cabinet or other object involved, the installation procedure oftentimes requires at least three people, particularly where each item must be retained in an elevated position by two people while installation is achieved by the third person. The installation is complicated further, and presents a potential safety risk, by the typical use of step ladders, planks of wood, or other movable platforms in order to place the object in its ultimate position. In many instances, such moveable platforms an not meant to bear the weight of, or provide stability to, the object to be mounted and/or lead to imprecise installation in that the object is not kept level. Such complications make what can be a very long and strenuous process even more time-consuming and laborious.
Others previously have sought to improve the way in which particularly heavy items were mounted to walls or ceilings by using jacks that lift and hold the item in place during installation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,921 by Griggs discloses a conventional hydraulic jack for supporting a cabinet during fastening to a wall stud or ceiling joist. While such a device may be suitable for its intended purpose, the weight, cost and amount of manual operation involved are relatively high.
In addition, brackets or braces that support a cabinet from the floor (or a countertop/vanity area) are in widespread use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,288 by Goss discloses an adjustable support bracket that provides a platform for holding a cabinet. The arm and leg of Goss' bracket use the floor or a countertop surface to support the platform. For strength and stability reasons, Goss' bracket is shown to be clamped in place. Of course, this adds an additional part and thereby complexity to the cabinet mounting process.
Thus, it continues to be desirable for there to be a support device or jig that is easily adjusted to a variety of lengths, is strong and easy to position, yet compact and securely fastened to a wall, to provide an improved device and method for supporting objects such as cabinets during installation.